I spent the last year as a sports journalist covering women's sports leagues in Boston. I took on this role to address an ongoing frustration I had — that most major Boston media outlets (including the current one) devote a portion of their comprehensive coverage to women's teams. I wanted to turn my anger into something productive, by creating the world I want to see: a world where athletes live Women's sports leagues Get excellent, fair and anti-racist coverage. But in my new career as a sports reporter, I felt a heartbreak familiar to so many fans before me: My favorite player had been traded.
Her name Sophie Jack. I suspect you don't know who he is. She is a young black Canadian hockey star who was drafted by PWHL Boston, a local professional women's hockey team. Jack has been identified as NCAA Division I Hockey Player of the YearShe has a degree in civil engineering (with a focus on transportation) and devotes her free time to work Black Girls Hockey Club. It was the feature story of this sports reporter's dreams: Not only could Jack help Boston win in the inaugural year of the PWHL, but maybe she could also help us fix the MBTA!
And then, before I had a chance to write about it, it was traded – poof. I'm disappointed that I missed my chance with Jack, but there's an important lesson for all of us in her story: There are very interesting and talented athletes in every women's league, if only we would look for them.
Women's college basketball is going through an extraordinary moment right now, and one that is long overdue. Kaitlyn Clark is getting a lot of press on this epic run during her senior year at Iowa State, breaking records along the way. Fans of every gender know the names jojo watkins, angel reese, And Big Baker – Much more than their male counterparts. On average 12.3 million people Tune in to watch the LSU vs. Iowa is in an Elite 8 game on Monday night, making it the most-watched college basketball game ever broadcast on ESPN.
But the truth is that only women's sports are included 15% For all sports media coverage. There are 1,000 Kaitlyn Clarks out there, if you cover women's sports. There are 1,000 stories of skilled, dedicated, and endlessly brilliant female athletes who absolutely shine. What they miss is the spotlight, attention and investment.
When I first started covering local women's sports leagues, I applied for a press pass to cover the Boston Pride, the name of the all-women's hockey team at the time. (I was angry that there were Olympians playing in Brighton, but I couldn't find any mention of their games in the local Boston media.) How was it possible that a professional team that won a national championship never got a “Duck Boat” show? Imagine the outrage if the Bruins won the Stanley Cup and no one threw them a party. But for Boston Pride and… Four-time national champions Boston Renegades (This is our professional women's soccer team), and this is standard sexism in New England sports.
Joshua Brister, owner of the semi-professional women's basketball team Lewiston Maples He said: Our problem is not attendance or quality of play. It's visibility and media coverage. These women ball. Maine will have a player in the first round of this year's WNBA draft (Mackenzie Holmes of Indiana University), and two others on WNBA rosters.
Invariably, some guy (usually a man) will argue with me and say that women's leagues don't deserve as much airtime as men's leagues because they don't have as many fans. But people can't love what they can't see, and right now, fans can't see enough of the women's league.
For example, ESPN has owned the rights to the NCAA women's tournament for years, But only now it is being commercialized. Sentence “March Madness” It has only been allowed for use in the women's tournament since 2022. Women's games are not easily accessible on ESPN, apps or on the NESN website locally.
Let's enjoy this moment not just because it's well deserved and overdue, but because it's so much fun.
I know from our own story in Boston Women's Sports That there is a real hunger for more stories about athletes in women's leagues. During the World Cup last summer, our most liked and shared post was about cheyenne matthews, He is originally from Lynn, who played for the Jamaican national team. We spent the entire month of February amplifying and, at times, mining the stories of Black female athletes from Massachusetts. There are so many glorious and under-reported stories to tell from the past – e.g Malden Meteors runner Louise May Stokes Fraser – And the present, including Professional cyclist and Berkeley graduate Aisha McGowan.
I'm a preacher by training, and I know that the best way to get a sermon is to share a good story. Show, don't tell. The solution here is very simple: there are more stories to share, so let's show more of them.
So, let's enjoy this moment not just because it's well deserved and overdue, but because it's so much fun. And let's celebrate, not just for this generation, but for all the generations of players who didn't get the limelight, all the generations that didn't get 12.3 million viewers but still competed with the best – the Cheryl Millers, the Sheryl Swoopes and the Shameik Holdsclaws. Enjoy watching Caitlin do a three-shot of the logo. Enjoy North Carolina State's improbable run, trying to beat undefeated University of South Carolina.
On Friday night, I'll meet up with my college girlfriends — all Division I athletes — and yes, their kids, too. We're having a history watch party: Iowa, UConn, NC State, and South Carolina. I ordered a cake that said “Everyone watches women's sports“.
Host your own viewing party. go to Drag brewery, Boston's newest bar focused on women's sports. Just don't miss the party.
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